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First Day

Today was my first day at the medical center. My medical center rotations were pushed back by two weeks because of ACHE Congress and a family emergency. The COO asked me to just drive to the medical center and find any parking that was available. He said that he wanted me to experience parking as a visitor and then let him know how difficult it was to find my way around. Finding parking did not turn out to be too hard since I had been on the campus before. However, the next task he gave me was much more interesting!

The COO had worked with a few of his directors and senior leaders to create a scavenger hunt for me. When I walked into his office he handed me a paper with a list of 18 places to find. He did not want me to use a map, but I could ask employees and volunteers for assistance. He asked me to observe signage, cleanliness and whether employees noticed if I was lost and offered assistance throughout the scavenger hunt (I was not wearing my name badge).

Neither of us was sure how long the scavenger hunt would take, but my schedule was blocked off for the entire morning just in case. The stops for which I was scheduled were purposely scattered all over the hospital. I found that Sub-Levels 1 and 2 were particularly difficult to navigate because it was easy to lose your sense of direction. In addition, the halls are lined with linen and food/drink carts. The cluttered halls also made the signage hard to see. I can understand why patients have trouble finding the lab and cafeteria. When I checked the bathrooms on the sub-levels they were surprisingly clean considering the amount of traffic they see. One of the stops on the scavenger hunt was 5 North. 5 North is not connected to 5 Central so patients, visitors and employees that are on the fifth floor of either the South or Central towers must go down to the fourth floor and use the 4 North elevators. Explaining this to a person who is not familiar with the layout of the hospital is not easy.

The first 16 stops on the scavenger hunt took between an hour and an hour and a half to complete. Luckily, the volunteers were very helpful in explaining where to go. The last two stops were the most difficult to locate (I know the COO planned it that way!). The 17^th stop was pre-admission testing, located in the satellite building. The satellite is located adjacent to the hospital and is accessible through a 2^nd floor tunnel that takes people around parking garage #2 and over a portion of one of the surface lots. Explaining pre-admission testing was more difficult than finding its location. When I asked some staff members where I could find it, they started to ask me what procedure I was having and what exactly my doctor ordered. When I explained that I was on a scavenger hunt that really sent them for a loop! Some employees did not know that there was one designated area for pre-admission testing.

The last stop on the scavenger hunt was the outpatient GI lab. When I asked a volunteer where I could find the lab she knew exactly what I was talking about. However, explaining how to get there was a completely different matter. The outpatient GI lab is located in the main plaza which is across the street from the hospital. Sub-level 2 has an extremely long tunnel that goes under the street to the main plaza. When people reach the end of the tunnel, they then must go up one floor and out the side doors, into adjacent doors within the parking area at the plaza. I can not imagine what I would tell someone if they asked me how to get there. In fact, I’d probably just take the 20 minutes out of my schedule to walk them there myself!

Overall, the scavenger hunt was a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to explore the hospital and some of the surrounding buildings for a few hours. I also had the chance to meet a few of the volunteers and provide the COO with feedback about how we can make finding these locations easier for patients and their families.